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When a child is born, many people purchase a life insurance policy for him or her. The parent is typically the owner and beneficiary of the policy, and many of these policies are known as industrial or debit policies. There were several purposes for these policies, namely to provide a death benefit, to add cash [...]
The appointment of a legal guardian is something that’s not taken lightly
Conservatorship concerns only the conservatee’s financial matters when they need assistance.
When one spouse is a resident of a nursing facility or medical institution (the “institutionalized spouse”), but the other spouse continues to live in the community (the “community spouse”), the community spouse may take a number of steps to retain a maximum level of resources without jeopardizing the institutionalized spouse’s Medicaid eligibility.1
Medicaid is a joint [...]
This article examines the unique planning requirements of families with children, grandchildren or other family members (such as parents) with special needs. There are many misconceptions in this area that result in costly mistakes in planning for these special needs beneficiaries. It is therefore incumbent upon us – the client’s advisors – to ensure that [...]
In a private letter ruling recently, the IRS addressed the issue of transferring an inherited IRA into a Special Needs Trust. The law around taxation of inherited IRAs and the interaction with trusts has been unpredictable and fast-moving for several years now.Fortunately, this private letter ruling indicates the direction the IRS is headed on [...]
The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the complete list of U.S. nursing homes that have failed to meet safety and quality standards for care.The list, which identifies 131 “Special Focus Facilities” that require additional oversight, follows the release in November 2007 of a list of 54 such facilities. At that [...]
A New York trial court recently approved a trustee’s petition to reform his deceased father’s trust in order to protect his disabled sister’s Medicaid benefits. In Matter of Newman (2008 NY Slip Op 50127, Jan. 22, 2008).
When he died in 1988, William Newman established a trust in his will for his disabled daughter. The will [...]
Special Needs Estate Planning focuses on the need to provide for the special needs of our loved ones with disabilities when we are no longer there to organize and advocate on their behalf. It is essential that we start planning now for the coordination of the legal, financial, and care components that will provide for [...]